เพศสภาพกับการจัดการภัยพิบัติ : กรณีศึกษาชุมชนปริกใต้ ตำบลปริก อำเภอสะเดา จังหวัดสงขลา

Abstract

The objectives of this qualitative research are to study 1) community-based disaster (flood) management processes, and 2) gender in the disaster management, in Prik Tai (a Buddhist community) of Prik subdistrict municipality, Sadao District, Songkhla Province. The analyses of women’s and men’s roles at the household and community levels are based on the concepts of Disaster Risk Management (DMR), gender division of labor (production, reproduction, and community work), and social reproduction. Research methods comprise participant and non-participant observations, and semi-structured interviews of two groups of twenty-four key informants: members of nine households who played key roles in household disaster management, and community core-team members with important roles in community-based disaster management The other twenty-six informants include those involved in community disaster management. The other fifteen persons are women and men in two nearby municipal communities who also experienced the same floods. The disaster management of Prik Tai community could be divided into three periods as follows: 1) Flooding occurred in 1988, as the villagers perceived the disaster as unpredictable, they focused on responding to the at-hand situations rather than preparation before the disaster. The villagers supported one another during the disaster, while supports were sent through subdistrict and village headmen. 2) Flooding occurred in 2000, after the establishment of the municipality, which played a key role in planning to cope with disaster, setting up an evacuation camp, rescuing and rehabilitation. Due to the municipal provision, the village disaster management was turned into mainly depending on the municipal information inputs for their preparation. 3) Flooding occurred in 2010, due to the support of Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), the villagers learned to employ information, knowledge and skills in disaster management instead of village surveillance like before. A village disaster management committee was set up and trained for before, during and after disaster management practices. They worked with the municipality to raise the village concerns of livelihoods and safety under the municipal supervision. Regarding gender in disaster management, it is found that the roles of women in three groups – community core-team members, villagers, and vulnerable group - were related to reproduction work, particularly household chores and care of family members. The women employed their skills in caring for the well-being of family members in disaster management and community work. In terms of gender division of labor, women played all of the three roles (production, reproduction and community work), whereas men’s roles in production and community work were labor-intensive, together with a higher level of at-risk work more than those of women. The female community core-team members played key roles in social reproduction, in household chores, unpaid services and community work, which significantly contributed to the well-being of community members and the vunlerable group. However, women’s social reproduction is not yet recognized in terms of its value accounts and contribution from the state and the society. It is vital to promote the social recognition of women’s social reproduction at the household and community levels, as one of the initial points in the process of decreasing gender inequities.